Sunset
by goblincore
Summary: JJ and Isaac have a moment during sunset. tw for implied rape


The sun lazily drifted across the sky, casting everything in a dimming orange glow as it prepared to say goodnight, JJ sighing as he plopped down on the barely stable balcony of his room. He mumbled to himself as he pulled his metal helmet off, grimacing at the sweat compiled inside it and setting it next to him, ruffling his hair to get rid of any awkward helmet-hair he had. He wiped his hands on his pants, making not to wash them later, even though the water was so dirty it probably wouldn't do a damn thing- it was the implications though, that made him feel safer. He wished things could be clean out in the Wastes, like they were in the Vault, but it was called the Wastes for a reason.

God, he missed the Vault and it's cleanliness so much. Never dirt or grime or dust, no rusting nails and flimsy shacks, just clean, sanitized floors and cool walls, florescent lights above him and a snug Vault suit on as opposed to a grimy pair of pants and flannel, his dusty combat armor safely tossed on his bed. He longed for clean water and preserved food instead of the radiation soaked bullshit he downed every day, but he couldn't very well go back to that, not after what he did.

Not after what he did…

His thoughts were disorganized by the sound of his door opening. No one came in his room without knocking besides Issac, and a quick glance back showed that that was indeed who it was. He mustered up a fake smile before looking back at the sunset. His heart was hurting too much to offer up anything real.

Issac sat next to him, copying him and tossing his legs over the balcony and looking at JJ. Silence consumed the space between them until JJ could hear his hear beating in his ears, Issac finally speaking up.

"Where did you get that scar?" He asked, almost sounding shocked. JJ never took his helmet off, and when he did it was replaced with his power armor helmet, and when that was off he at the very least had a hat, except when the fell asleep but even then JJ found ways to obstruct Issac's view. It was weird knowing that he'd never seen his boyfriend's full head, but that was ignored as he eyed the large, prominent scar in an otherwise full head of hair, long and slick. it was jagged and torn with marks where obvious sloppy stitches were placed.

JJ looked at him with a look of confusion before his eyes widened, and he covered the scar with his hand, grabbing his helmet with his other hand and all but slamming it back on his head, looking away."Doesn't matter." He mumbled.

"Aw, come on, Julie." Issac teased, though he did so quietly, nudging JJ.

JJ scowled, glaring at him,"Don't ever, ever call me that."

Oh. Issac frowned, any playfulness disappearing. He'd never gotten that reaction before with any of the other nicknames he'd assigned to him at random."Okay," He whispered, tilting his head, his eyebrows furrowing,"I won't, promise."

JJ just looked away again, sighing,"Sorry just…My friend used to call me that. Bad memories."

"Oh, okay." Issac nodded slowly."…Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay. Wanna talk about the scar?"

"…No…"

"…Will you?"

JJ sighed, glancing down at the street below them."Yea." He replied, kicking his feet back and forth like a child in an attempt to busy himself."Back when I was little and I…Left home." He started, attempting to keep his backstory vague. He'd never told anyone where he came from or really what he'd ever been through, and he didn't feel like starting now,"I…I went to this place. It was way off the map in the middle of hick territory, I mean everyone there was either two stones from death's door from the liver failure the moonshine caused or so inbreed they didn't know up from down. Real scary place for a fresh faced kid just looking for his dad, ya know?" He said, looking at Issac for the smallest bit of validation. He found it when Issac nodded, and gave a hefty sigh, trying to force the words to keep coming.

"Well, I made friends with the guy that carried me out there, he was going on and on about how we were a good team and I…I think he was flirting with me. It was nice, ya know, my home never really had good resources for that sort of thing, so I just went with it. Stayed with this guy for weeks, talking and having fun, all that fun stuff." He sighed again, "Anyway, a whole mess of events went down, and I found myself trying to find this missing girl, not much younger than me, but you know how I am with kids, right?" He forced another smile but it disappeared quickly just as the first did."And that leads me to this swamp, and…Look I'll spare you the details of what happened in this swamp, but…But I got drugged pretty badly, and I saw some awful, awful stuff, and when I stumbled out I was just covered in blood and my head was killing me and-" He cut himself off, forcing a deep breath into his lungs as he calmed down, trying to forget what he saw and continue on with the story.

"And…I wandered around this swamp land for a long time. Could have been hours, could have been days, I don't know, but I kept hearing things and…and /seeing/ things, and when I finally came too I was hunched over the railing by my friend's boat, still bleeding and still in pain, but I was finally grounded. And my friend came out, and he just…he stared at me. And I remembered so much…He did so much fucked up stuff to me." He said, shaking his head quickly, to the point Issac reached out and grabbed his shoulder to stop him before he accidentally fell."It's so messed up." JJ said, giving a sad laugh,"I was barely 19, and I found out what the Wastes were all about, ya know? A kid shouldn't have to go through that."

"You're right." Issac pipped up, easily dragging his big boyfriend over and wrapping an arm around him, kissing his cheek and sighing, tugging him closer and managing to reposition to a more comfortable cuddling position."A kid shouldn't have to go through anything close to that." He whispered, kissing the top of his head,"But you're safe now. You're away from all the bad things in your life, and you're here, and you're /safe/."

There wasn't another word said until a while later, after the sun settled below the horizon and the moon climbed up in the sky. Issac thought JJ had fallen asleep for a while, until he sighed.

"Thanks." He said, his grip in Issac's shirt tightening."For everything." He added.

"Here to help." Issac replied, quietly, kissing his the top of his head again.


End file.
